From: Platt Holden (pholden@sc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Aug 06 2005 - 13:33:03 BST
Hi JC,
> And yes, I would claim that names do in fact create existence. And I don't
> think this form of idealism is at all new. Because when a tree crashes in
> the forest, there is in fact no sound. Sound is a statement of
> relationship between ears that detect and translate transmitted energy
> waves. If there is no ear, the event is something different than "hearing"
> that occurs.
Pirsig rejected your argument in a note in Lila's Child:
"This is the usual argument against the philosophic idealism that is part
of the MOQ so it had better be answered here. It is similar to the
question, "If a tree falls in the forest and nobody hears it, does it make
a sound?" The historic answer of the idealists is, "What tree?" In order
to ask this question you have to presuppose the existence of the falling
tree and then ask whether this presupposed tree would vanish if nobody
were there. Of course it wouldn't vanish! It has already been
presupposed. This presupposition is a standard logical fallacy known as a
hypothesis contrary to fact. It is the "hypothetical question" that is
always thrown out of court as inadmissible. If pigs could fly how high
would they go? (LC, Note 80)
Platt
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